WAUKESHA, Wis. — The Waukesha County’s District Attorney warns her office is nearing a crisis situation for staffing.
DA Lesli Boese said the county is second in the state for its lack of prosecutors. That is according to the Wisconsin Department of Administration. And she said if something doesn’t change the shortage is about to come with major consequences for crime.
“I have to start picking and choosing what crimes I prosecute, and that is a situation that no prosecutor's office should be in,” she said.
“So, there are cases that aren't getting charged?” asked TMJ4 reporter Rebecca Klopf.
“Going forward, there will be cases that aren't charged,” said Boese.
Watch: Waukesha County DA issues dire warning on prosecutor shortage
“Is that the message you want to send to people in Waukesha County?” asked Rebecca Klopf.
“No, the message I want to send to people in Waukesha County is because of the staffing shortage, this is the corner that I have been backed into,” said Boese.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Administration, Waukesha County is down 10.6 prosecutors. And that number is about to go higher when they lose another two and a half positions this summer when a grant ends. That puts Waukesha County at number two in the state for the biggest shortage of prosecutors.
They have less prosecutors than Racine and Kenosha counties, despite having a bigger population than those counties. Waukesha County has 16 prosecutors, Kenosha County has 18 and Racine County has 20.
“We will have fewer attorneys in our office than when I started 30 years ago. Yet our population has grown by over 77,000 people, the crime rate has gone up,” said Boese. “If you don't hold people accountable, they may become enabled in some respects to say it is okay.”
Prosecutors are not funded by county but at the state level.
Wisconsin lawmakers are currently working on a budget for prosecutors right now. Currently, they are proposing enough funding to add 0.5 or half of a prosecutor position in Waukesha County.
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